On Thursday, December 12, state leadership met with the AFSCME bargaining team at our AFSCME Maryland office for another negotiation session. We were originally supposed to meet on Tuesday, December 3 at State Center, but due to the ongoing legionella outbreak in the buildings, the State cancelled on us after the AFSCME team asked that bargaining be relocated elsewhere.
At this most recent session, the AFSCME bargaining team presented a counter proposal to the State, focusing on achieving pay equity and fairness. AFSCME members with many years of dedicated state service highlighted the challenges of being behind on step increases.
The State recognized that the salary scale needs to be fixed, but we do not yet have a concrete proposal from the State detailing adjustments to the scale.
Our AFSCME counter proposal included:
- A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) that keeps up with inflation as opposed to the State’s proposed 1%
- An increase in shift differential pay to $2
- A consistent 2.5% step increase across the board
The State promised to bring a counter proposal to the next bargaining session tomorrow (Wednesday, December 18), but our state leaders are running out of time to take action and give state workers what we deserve.
If you have not done so, please send a letter to Governor Moore and state leadership to demand they stop running down the clock and come to the bargaining table with a fair wage proposal. We need a proposal that actually respects the difficult and essential work we do every day.
Please join us this Thursday, December 19 in Cumberland for a final press conference to call on the State to invest in us and our state facilities. Meet at 9:45 AM in front of North Branch Correctional Institution (14100 McMullen Highway SW, Cumberland, MD 21502) and wear your AFSCME green!
Our Union Power Comes from You
When it comes to negotiations, your membership matters. When our membership is strong and united, the State takes us seriously, which means being able to win big at the bargaining table. If you are not currently an AFSCME member, you can join at www.afscmemd.org/join.
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NOTE: Access to bargaining information is limited to bargaining unit employees (units A, B, C, D, F, and H). Be aware that details of proposals, counterproposals, and related discussions in closed collective bargaining sessions are private and confidential communications protected from unilateral public disclosure during collective bargaining negotiations under SPP § 3-501(e). Such details should not be made public while collective bargaining negotiations are taking place. The above materials in this post include details and therefore should not be circulated to the public or publicly.